10 Elements to Building a WOW! Experience

Early in the book, Hyatt describes a “WOW!” experience and what it means to offer such an experience to your customers.

If you don’t WOW! your customers and prospects, they’ll be WOW-ed somewhere else!

He says a WOW! experience includes some combination of the following 10 elements:

1. Surprise

A WOW! experience involves some form of delight, amazement or awe.

2. Anticipation

Sometimes looking forward to the experience can compare to the actual experience itself. Like the anticipation of a vacation when you’ve been stuck in below freezing temperatures for months! (Many of you know EXACTLY what I’m talking about!)

3. Resonance

When you’re WOW-ed, it goes deep, down to the heart even!

4. Transcendence

Often a WOW! experience involves purpose and meaning. TOMS Shoes does a great job of transcending beyond just the purchase of a pair of shoes.

5. Clarity

There’s never mistaking a WOW! experience – you just “get it!”

6. Presence

Just like the clarity received, when you experience WOW!, you are fully present and want to keep experiencing that feeling if you can!

7. Universality

Very rarely does a WOW! experience hit one person and miss another completely…in fact, the opposite is true: everyone typically experiences it in very much the same way.

8. Evangelism

A WOW! experience MUST be shared – there’s just not an option!

9. Longevity

A true WOW! experience has the ability to happen over and over again. Every time I go to Chici-Fil-A, I’m still WOW-ed by their service and friendliness; even though I expect it, I’m still enamored!

10. Privilege

People feel proud to be part of a WOW! experience; there’s a sense of participation and pride to be connected with the experience and the brand.

Are you WOW-ing your customers and prospects?

Think through these 10 elements and find a way to integrate WOW! into your brand. It doesn’t have to hit every single one, but if you want to genuinely rise above the noise, it’s going to take more than just “OKAY.”